WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 795: Episode 38: Fortuitous Encounter (1)

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「Every fortuitous encounter is Plausibility from the universe's perspective.」

- Dokkaebi King

* * *

I don't know if I've ever told you about that author.

「"You must include fortuitous encounters. The more, the better. Pile them onto the protagonist."」

He was the instructor of the first web novel lecture I attended. He stressed piling fortuitous encounters onto protagonists in every class, so his students simply called him Fortuitous Encounter.

Since he was older than me, I called him Fortuitous Encounter-hyung. One day, the man who constantly went on about fortuitous encounters suddenly vanished from the industry.

Some said he had begun writing under a different pen name, while others said he had left the industry altogether. There were even people who whispered that he had been reincarnated in another world, mocking him by saying he must have found a fortuitous encounter there.

However, no one knew what had really happened to Fortuitous Encounter-hyung.

Still, I had something to say about his disappearance. Two years before he vanished, Fortuitous Encounter-hyung had contacted me.

- Hakhyeon, want to work on a story together?

The call came just when my next work had failed miserably. I was glad to hear from him, but it also made me uncomfortable.

- Hyung, our styles are too different.

Collaborating on a story.

Usually, no sane author would do such a thing. A collaboration between writers with strong egos was unlikely to go well, and there were often cases where two people writing together made the result worse.

Besides, it wasn't as if collaborations made more money.

- Honestly, I don't think I can do it well. I'll only hold you back.

- No. I need your help. Can't we just try it once?

Was it because his voice over the phone sounded so desperate? Or because this month's maintenance fee came to mind?

Even though I knew I shouldn't, I couldn't resist the temptation.

- I really don't think I can do it... Then how would we work on it?

- I'll write the first draft, then you can look it over. Even if it fails, I'm the one who'll fail, so don't worry.

- But you're going to pile ten fortuitous encounters on the protagonist from the start again, aren't you?

- Hey. I've changed now. I won't pile fortuitous encounters on the protagonist anymore.

Fortuitous Encounter-hyung wasn't going to use fortuitous encounters?

I thought it was a joke, but I was curious.

- What genre is it?

- Modern fantasy, but I'll mix in some martial arts and a system. I haven't really planned out the world setting. You're good at that, so I wanted some help.

- You're not asking me to make all of it, are you?

- I said it's a collaboration. We'll make it together, but you'll handle the foundations. What do you think?

- Sounds good.

- Great, I'm counting on you. Maybe my senses have gotten old, but I can't come up with trendy settings anymore. I'll give you a decent cut.

The more I listened, the more tempting the offer seemed. I happened to have some ideas, too.

- Do you have a rough plot?

- Well, there isn't a world setting yet. Maybe a tower suddenly appears in the world...

- Tower-climbing stories are outdated.

- That's true, but wouldn't it be fine if we made the protagonist unusual?

- What ability will he have?

- Let's not give him any ability at all.

No ability at all?

- He'll work hard and train until he becomes strong without any abilities. It's about time classic hardworking protagonists made a comeback.

There were many protagonists like that now, but there weren't many back then.

- What if he trains only thrusting, over and over?

Was that why?

At the time, I found Fortuitous Encounter-hyung's idea quite interesting.

- Well, okay.

Whenever I think of that time, I have this thought.

What if every story in this world is connected?

What if every author, without realizing it, contributes to one enormous work in ways they could never imagine?

- Hmm, then the title...

The moment I heard Fortuitous Encounter-hyung's voice, a title came to me as if it were Fate. I felt that no other title could suit this story.

- 『The World After the Fall』. What do you think?

Several years passed after that day.

『The World After the Fall』, which we had written together, was eventually completed with modest results after many twists and turns. Yet Fortuitous Encounter-hyung, unable to withstand financial hardship, disappeared somewhere.

I didn't know where he had gone. The occasional royalties I received only told me that someone was reading the work we had written.

"Kim Dokja."

Those royalties fed me. They let me pay my maintenance fees and rent.

They let me continue being a writer.

That was why a parody of 『The World After the Fall』 appeared in 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』.

It was a courtesy to Fortuitous Encounter-hyung, who had written with me. Or perhaps a wish that he was still somewhere in this world, reading and writing novels.

Thinking about it now, it all sometimes felt like a lie.

Had 『The World After the Fall』 really been a novel we wrote?

Perhaps he and I had merely been nameless scribes recording the dreams of some distant universe.

"Kim Dokja!"

Yu Junghyeok's shout jolted me awake.

"Ah."

I suddenly looked behind me.

The emptiness of space lay there. The nebulae and Outer Gods that had threatened us until moments ago had all been swept away.

In that magical moment of emptiness, I had clearly seen the flash that wiped them all out.

Thrusting.

It was undoubtedly thrusting.

"Be careful."

With those words, Junghyeok stepped in front of me. His body was in tatters after everything we had been through. Watching him step forward despite that, I stood beside him.

"I've never seen him before."

Unease flickered across Junghyeok's brooding expression.

Had I ever seen the Yu Junghyeok of the 41st round so tense?

The point that had looked like a full stop was gradually growing larger. Soon, it became the figure of a man.

What was unusual was that the man was naked.

No one had to tell me. He was the protagonist who had used "thrusting."

The moment our eyes met, it felt as though every hair on my body would burn away. It was like being watched by a massive eye.

An immensely large, intense eye staring into the universe.

I had never felt this way, even when facing fabled-grade Constellations.

"Yu Junghyeok. Do you believe in fortuitous encounters?"

"What?"

The naked man holding a sword finally reached us. He looked leisurely between the two of us before muttering,

"So you're the ones."

The ones. He spoke as if he knew us.

"Just as he said."

The man's eyes, filled with deep disappointment, stared at me briefly before turning to Junghyeok.

"I expected you to be pathetic, but..."

Junghyeok frowned, his lips twitching.

Before something unnecessary happened, I stepped forward.

"You're Jaehwan, the Monarch Slayer. Am I right?"

The man's expression changed subtly at my words.

"You know me?"

Of course I did.

He was the protagonist of 『The World After the Fall』, which I had written with Fortuitous Encounter-hyung.

The absolute being of the world setting 《Phantasmagoric Tree》.

Jaehwan, the Monarch Slayer.

The protagonist of that story, which I no longer even knew if we had written, was looking at me.

"Is there anyone in this universe who doesn't know your name?"

"I wouldn't be famous in this universe."

"Let's call it the universe next door."

He had even encountered Kim Dokja after he became the Oldest Dream and wandered around on the subway.

Well, neither of them would have good memories of it.

In any case, what mattered was that he had appeared in 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』.

- Kim Dokja.

Junghyeok's tense [Midday Tryst] reached my ears.

- He is a being approaching a Mythical Constellation.

A Mythical Constellation.

The stars occupying the loftiest places in the <Star Stream>.

Junghyeok was saying that the man was equal to, or even stronger than, them.

I didn't know why the Monarch Slayer had come here. However, this was an opportunity for us.

"Please help us."

"What?"

"We need your help."

I never imagined that I would have to ask him for help. However, there was no other way.

[You have been exiled from the Scenario.]

Tzzzt.

The space around me lurched.

My Incarnation body, which had briefly stabilized, was shaking once more.

[Enter a new Main Scenario.]

[If you fail to acquire a new Main Scenario, you will die.]

I had forgotten for a moment. I had died in place of the Demon King of Salvation at the Recycling Center, and the price was becoming a Scenario exile.

Like the Kim Dokja in the Demon Realm, my Incarnation body would be dismantled if I did not enter a new Scenario.

Jaehwan stared at me for a while before asking,

"Why should I help you?"

Judging from his prickly tone, he felt like he could be Junghyeok's ancestor.

Still, the conversation was continuing. There was hope yet.

"You helped us just now."

"I didn't help you. I merely got rid of those who were disrupting my training."

Training?

When I focused my sight, I saw the energy rippling around his entire body. A fable that extended sharply towards the world like an awl. It was energy that seemed to embody "thrusting."

A chill ran down my spine.

Even at this moment, he was repeatedly thrusting at the world.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of thrusts per second.

Was that what the concept of "thrusting" would look like if it took form?

"If you keep disrupting me, I'll kill you too."

A chilling warning.

Normally, we should leave immediately. He was a being who could contend with Mythical Constellations.

Rumbleee.

Noises boiled up from beyond the void.

I could still sense the Statuses of the nebulae's lackeys and the Outer Gods that had not given up on us.

They were wary because this man was here, but the moment we created even a little distance, they would rush at us like wild dogs again.

My instincts told me so.

Somehow, I needed to buy more time.

"Is there a reason you continue training even though you are so strong?"

Jaehwan didn't answer, but I continued asking.

"Did you come here to meet someone?"

I thought carefully about his nature before asking again.

"Or do you seek a powerful enemy?"

Jaehwan, the Monarch Slayer, was a man more competitive than anyone else. He was the being who had thrust through and killed every monarch and god who ruled 《Phantasmagoric Tree》, and eventually destroyed even the universe he belonged to. Perhaps he would be interested in the powerful beings of this universe.

Indeed, a faint emotion appeared in Jaehwan's eyes as he slowly raised his head.

"Is there such a being?"

"I'll let you fight them."

I didn't use [Incitement]. Instinctively, I knew [Incitement] would not work on the being before me. All I could rely on now was my tongue.

Fortunately, Jaehwan seemed slightly interested.

"How?"

"We are currently being pursued by the stars of the <Star Stream>."

Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to eliminate our enemies. If I could make this being, who approached the strength of a Mythical Constellation, our ally.

I took several deep breaths before continuing.

"Just by staying with us, all kinds of powerful beings in the <Star Stream> will come looking for you."

"Are you trying to use me?"

"We can help each other a little. Just allow us to stay by your side."

If we let him go here, we would end up with nothing. He had the upper hand, so I thought it was better to be honest about our situation than try to persuade him with clumsy words.

Jaehwan looked at me without answering. Then he slowly turned to look behind me.

Since when had it begun?

The Nameless Ones that had been watching us from afar were expanding their numbers and approaching again.

"Annoying."

In a voice that revealed neither agreement nor refusal, he swung his sword through the air.

Another flash surged forth, and the surroundings became quiet.

It was strength terrifying beyond measure.

Jaehwan got up and slowly began walking somewhere.

I signalled to Junghyeok so we could follow Jaehwan.

However, Junghyeok didn't react at all.

When I turned around, Junghyeok was unconscious. Only then did I notice his shattered knee and stab wounds.

Of course.

It was remarkable that he had endured this long after using [Recovery].

I hoisted Junghyeok onto my back and began following Jaehwan. Fortunately, he moved only fast enough for us to follow.

I took that as his permission.

Was this a fortuitous encounter?

What would Fortuitous Encounter-hyung have said if he had seen that man's back?

[Your Incarnation body is unstable.]

[Fable Heir to an Eternal Name warns you.]

'I know, so stop nagging me.'

The lifespan of my Incarnation body was decreasing in real time. From now on, it was a race against time.

While following the Monarch Slayer, I had to find a way to return to a Main Scenario.

Without looking back, Jaehwan muttered,

"One week. No longer."

I nodded, carrying Junghyeok's battered body.

"One week is enough."

We would never die.

At least, not until we changed this universe's damned conclusion.

I began walking steadily, following the footprints he had left in the void.

Footnotes:

Fortuitous Encounter-hyung's nickname comes from his fixation on giving protagonists lucky narrative encounters. Hyung is a Korean term for an older brother or older male acquaintance.

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